Medical implants have become highly popular and method of choice to restore patients’ quality of life which is hampered due to several health concerns. Implants have been proven to be effective in spinal disc problems, dental issues, ophthalmic disorders, orthopedic diseases and fractures, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases. The materials used to construct these implants are in direct contact with body tissues/ biological fluids for a certain period of time or even for lifetime and are therefore termed as biomaterials. Since our body recognizes foreign materials and trigger immunological responses, the properties of implant biomaterials become very crucial in success of these medical implant procedures. Biocompatibility of the biomaterial is the foremost consideration while selecting materials along with other characteristic requirements such as durability, wear resistance, and flexibility.

The global biomaterials market can be segmented on the basis of nature or material type and healthcare applications. On the basis of materials type, the global biomaterials market can be categorized into metals, ceramics, polymers and natural materials. Today, metals constitute largest market share among all biomaterials, however the growth is expected to witness decline in the coming years due to increasing focus on polymers and ceramics in applications such as orthopedic and dental implants.

Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) polymer has excellent biocompatibility, outstanding bio-inertness and high resistance to corrosion, hydrolysis and chemicals. PEEK is the most popular polymer and is utilized in number of applications such as spinal implants and orthopedic implants. Transparency Market Research (http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/), a leading U.S.-based market research firm, analyzes the global market for biomaterials in implantable devices and predicts a compounded annual growth rate of 4.1% for the period 2013 to 2019.

Orthopedic implants have always been the major driver for the biomaterial manufacturer because the prevalence of bone-related diseases such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is rising with rise in aging population. More than 20 percent of global population is expected to be over 60 years by 2050, which means that the market for implants and consequently for biomaterials will keep on expanding in the coming years. The advancements in polymer chemistry, medical technology, biotechnology and tissue engineering have rendered high success rates for medical implant procedures leading to rise in adoption of implantable devices. Transparency Market Research estimated that the market for biomaterials in orthopedic applications will dominate the overall market and is expected to retain its lead position among the other applications of biomaterials market.

As biomaterial market in North America and Europe has become saturated, presently the market is solely driven by advancements and innovations in the biomaterial industry. The companies in these geographies focus on gaining benefits from advances in material science for healthcare applications. For instance, Biomaterials Innovation Network (Biomat-IN) in Europe has brought 5 European clusters together in order to foster innovation in the biomaterials technology through transnational cooperation.

These 5 clusters included Eurasanté (France), BioRegio STERN Management GmbH (Germany), NV Industriebank LIOF (Netherlands), Atlanpole Biotherapies (France), Medilink East Midlands (UK). Similar activities in the North America are expected to bring innovative biomaterial approaches for medical implants. Moreover, the acceptance rate and adoption of implant procedures is surging in the rapidly developing countries such as China and India. The ASEAN countries which include Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand are also contributing to the growth of market due to increasing medical tourism for performing medical implant procedures. As a result of these favorable market dynamics, global biomaterials market is expected to expand more rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region.

Radhika Agarwal
I am Radhika Agarwal, a Research Analyst working with Europlat.Org. I am a biotechnologist and have completed MBA in Biotechnology from the University of Pune. My current work profile includes conducting market research and consulting projects for various sectors of the Healthcare industry.